Live Review: Postal Service at Metro 8/4

As if expectations for Postal Service’s reunion show at Metro weren’t high enough already, Ben Gibbard incited even more of a frenzy earlier in the day by tweeting that this would be the band’s last show ever. The excitement was palpable an hour and a half before the start of the 11 pm post-Lollapalooza show, with a line stretching down the block of fans eager to get in early and snag a good spot from which to witness history. Any concerns about how the band’s delicate electro pop sound would translate in a live setting immediately evaporated when an exuberant Ben Gibbard leapt onto stage wearing all black and launched into “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.” The crowd knew it was in for something special. Alternating between manning the keys, playing the drums, and dancing seductively with Jenny Lewis, Gibbard gave the band’s mellow sound a shot of rock adrenaline with a high-energy rampage through 17 flawless tracks — at one point even crowd surfing. Before the band’s encore-closing rendition of “Such Great Heights,” Gibbard announced, “this will be our last song ever.” But given how much fun the band was clearly having on stage, don’t bet on it. BY JAY GENTILE